The Person Tom Woods’s Daughter Chose

I have one other thing to tell you about Regina. (She’s my 13-year-old.)

Not long ago she was told she needed to write 1500 words on a person who had made a change in the world.

You can imagine the usual names that come up with an assignment like that. But Regina chose Murray Rothbard.

After all, he created the intellectual framework of the libertarian movement, and it would not have been the same without him. In the late 1960s he estimated there were about 25 libertarians, total.

Today, there are millions. That’s a change.

Now again: I didn’t so much as suggest Rothbard to her; I didn’t even know about the assignment. She thought he was an interesting guy who deserved recognition, so she chose him.

Today is Murray Rothbard’s birthday. He would have been 91.

If you’re not familiar with him, you’re in for a treat.

I can’t begin to describe the scope of his work in economics, history, and related fields. His productivity was astonishing. Rothbard books continue to be released more than 20 years after his death: a 500-page book by Rothbard on the Progressive Era will be coming out in the not-too-distant future.

I remember the first time I spoke to him on the phone. It was like the first time a guy calls a girl on the phone: he writes out what he’s going to say in case he goes blank. (YES, YOU DID THIS.) But I was immediately at ease with the generous (and talkative!) Rothbard.

I couldn’t resist sharing the one photo I have with Rothbard, even though I look like an idiot.

In one of my very early episodes, before we had the extensive show notes pages, I talked to Lew Rockwell about the life and work of Murray Rothbard. Worth a listen today.

PS: Save the date: the Mises Institute is holding its 35th-anniversary celebration in New York City on October 6-7. Speakers include Judge Andrew Napolitano, Lew Rockwell, David Stockman, Hans Hoppe, Walter Block, Bob Murphy, Tom DiLorenzo, Jeff Deist, and me.

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